Weekend Walks: Namsan Tower and Namdaemun

I’d never call myself a hiker but I do love to walk from place to place. Today I went on a really great walk through Namdaemun market and from there all the way to the top of Namsan tower.

Namdaemun is one of the coolest market areas you’ll find in Seoul. It’s huge and there’s all sorts of things for sale. I saw tons of stores for glasses and clothes and food and cameras. I’d been there before but it had always had a very precise purpose–it was fun to just wander around and look at all the crap for sale at the different stores.

From there I wandered on to Namsan Park. I started out by visiting a traditional house, which showcased how old timey Koreans lived.

Then I was out to find the cable car. Only I didn’t I ended up in Namsan Park instead. I walked the northbound trail till I got to a beautiful fountain and directions up to the tower. It was about a 1.2 kilometer long hike from this point according to the sign and i was about 1.5 kilometers from where I had started.

This was a good hike, the stairs were a bit much for me but only because I’m not especially fit.

Once I made it to the tower I paid my 9000 for admittance to the observatory. I could see the 63 building towering above far away Yeouido. It was a really breathaking site, thanks to the unusually clear weather. I’ve heard it said you can see Incheon on a super clear day but I can’t help feel this is exaggeration.

I didn’t eat dinner at any of the restaurants there but the prices at the observatory restaurant seemed pretty outrageous. There were an abundance of places to buy water or sports drinks along the path and thank goodness for that because I didn’t pack any.

If you like walking, even if you’re not an experienced hiker the climb up Namsan is quite worthwhile.

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About Andrew MartinHello, I'm a 31 year old educator. I've spent a few years abroad before coming back to the states this year.
I'm a man of many interests, and I use seoulbound as my place for talking about them.